Last Friday, J.K. Rowling shocked the world with an announcement about her recently completed Harry Potter series. Yes, folks, Albus Dumbledore, wise old headmaster, mentor and father figure to our titular hero, was gay and desperately in love with the first dark lord that he ever conquered: Gellert Grindelwald.

The thousands of comments on MuggleNet’s and The Leaky Cauldron’s coverage of the event range from “OH. MY. GOD. WOW. I’m so happy! Squeee!!!” to virulent attacks on JKR and gays in general. More than one person claimed that they’d throw all seven books in the trash, hide them from their children or just pretend that Dumbledore likes women.

Although we followed Dumbledore through all seven books, and have come to know, love and finally mourn the character, this new facet of his life can entirely change our perception of who he is — if we let it.

I believe that this is exactly what Rowling wanted to avoid when she didn’t mention the fact in the novels. From the Purebloods’ disdain for Squibs and Muggleborns to the virulent hatred of werewolves to the mistreatment of house elves, the series argues against discrimination in any form.

Now, by “outing” Dumbledore post-mortem, she’s creating tolerance for sexuality, to demonstrate that it is simply not the defining characteristic of any person. Regardless of what he did in his private life, Dumbledore was still the epitome of goodness, of wisdom, of trustworthiness. He was still the batty old man who greets Hogwarts classes with the Sorting Hat in tow during their first dinner in the Great Hall. He was still Harry’s caretaker, savior and father figure, even after death. To the idea that Dumbledore being gay ruins the characters, one Leaky commenter responded, “You probably liked him perfectly well before you knew his orientation – and it didn’t suddenly change. He’s still the same character.”

Dumbledore’s unspoken sexuality had no bearing on his crucial role in the series. Any possible allusion is subtle: Rowling mentions that Albus waited until five years into Grindelwald’s reign of terror before their infamous duel, possibly due to “lingering affection.”

Harry Potter may be a children’s book, but it is the defining children’s book of our generation. In children’s novels, sexuality rarely exists. But now, the series takes place in a universe that truly parallels our own; if homosexuality exists, who wouldn’t be able to say that so does an entire alternate Wizarding community that Harry has simply yet to cross paths with? Even calling it a children’s book at all can no longer apply – few other books contain such a complete and believable universe, fleshed out by wholly beautiful, conflicted and above all human characters.

By placing a gay character in her novels, Rowling is promoting tolerance and acceptance in a way that will reach a wide audience. Because it was never explicitly stated in the pages, Rowling meant this to have little impact on our opinion of the character. I have grown up with this series and with the Hogwarts headmaster as my hero. Learning something new about him can only increase my love and appreciation for one of the wisest fictional people to ever influence me. To me, Dumbledore will always be Dumbledore.